His name is George Junius Stinney, Jr. [b. 1929 – d. 1944], he was 14 yrs. 6mos. and 5 days old when he was executed — he and holds the title of being the youngest person ever executed in the United States in the 20th Century.

In a South Carolina prison sixty-six years ago, guards walked the 14-year-old boy, bible tucked under his arm, to the electric chair.

Standing only 5′ 1″ and weighing a mere 95 pounds, the straps of the chair didn’t fit, and an electrode was too big for his leg.

But that didn’t matter. The switch was pulled anyway and the adult sized death mask fell from George Stinney’s face. Tears streamed from his eyes. Witnesses recoiled in horror as they sat and watched the youngest person ever executed in the United States in the past century die.

Stinney was accused of killing two white girls, 11 year old Betty June Binnicker and 8 year old Mary Emma Thames, by beating them with a railroad spike then dragging their bodies to a ditch near Acolu, about five miles from Manning in central South Carolina.

The girls were found a day after they disappeared following a massive manhunt. Stinney was arrested a few hours later when white men in suits came and took him away. Because of the risk of a lynching, Stinney was kept at a jail 50 miles away in Columbia, SC.

Stinney’s father, who had helped look for the girls, was fired immediately and ordered to leave his home and the sawmill where he worked. His family was told to leave town prior to the trial to avoid further retribution. An atmosphere of lynch mob hysteria hung over the courthouse.

Without family visits, the 14 year old had to endure the trial and death alone.

The sheriff at the time said Stinney admitted to the killings, but there is only his word — no written record of the confession has been found. A lawyer with the case figures threats of mob violence and not being able to see his parents rattled the seventh-grader.

Attorney Steve McKenzie said he has even heard one account that says detectives offered the boy ice cream once they were done.

“You’ve got to know he was going to say whatever they wanted him to say,” McKenzie said.

The court appointed Stinney an attorney — a tax commissioner preparing for a Statehouse run. In all, the trial — from jury selection to a sentence of death — lasted one day.

The defense called no witnesses and never filed an appeal. No one challenged the sheriff’s recollection of the confession.

“As an attorney, it just kind of haunted me, just the way the judicial system worked to this boy’s disadvantage or disfavor. It did not protect him,” said McKenzie, who is preparing court papers to ask a judge to reopen the case.

Stinney’s official court record contains less than two dozen pages, several of them arrest warrants. There is no transcript of the trial.

Community activists are still fighting to clear Stinney’s name, saying the young boy couldn’t possibly have killed two girls.

In several cases like Stinney’s, petitions are being made before parole boards and courts are being asked to overturn decisions made when society’s thumb was weighing the scales of justice against blacks.

“I hope we see more cases like this because it help brings a sense of closure. It’s symbolic,” said Howard University law professor Frank Wu.

“It’s not just important for the individuals and their families. It’s important for the entire community. Not just for African Americans, but for whites and for our democracy as a whole. What these cases show is that it is possible to achieve justice.”

I wrote a few days ago about Lena Baker, a black Georgia maid sent to the electric chair for killing a white man. She finally received a pardon for her crime 60 years after her state ordered execution, when her family pointed out she likely killed the man because he was holding her against her will.

In the Stinney case, supporters want the state of North Carolina to admit that officials executed the wrong person on that fateful day in June 1944.

But these old cases all have a common thread… these American citizens were robbed of their lives. Murdered by the hands of a “government” that proclaims “justice for all”. They never received “justice” because of the color of their skin…. and neither did Troy Davis.

121 Comments

OMG GOD I am shame for this country I really wanna cry for this poor little boy, it’s obvious he couldn’t have killed those little girls he was only 8 years old. And they wonder why we<<(the black race) is crazy. They’ve raped our women, killed our men, and had us work ourselves to death. Wow I’m just pissed beyond words. No other race on this planet has been through so much humilation and it saddens me deeply

Are you kidding me, gagirl87? Read about what the Jews endured. Read the Bible. The Jews were held as slaves for 400 years by the Egyptians and guess where Egypt is… northern Africa. Then let’s not forget the holocaust. So don’t talk to me about the black race. Persecution comes in all colors and sizes.

You guys have more excuses (typically the bible as reinterpreted by the Klan ) than a grand daddy spider. One act of geniocide does no excuse another. Go get a life and tote your bible (klan version) with you.

wow this is crazy and its a shame! how could he drag two bodies at 80lbs soak and wet!? Even if he dragged one body at a time he wouldnt be able to do it. I hope he haunted the ish out of those people who gave him death

On May 3, 1946, in picturesque St. Martinville, Louisiana, a seventeen year-old black boy was scheduled for execution by electric chair inside of a tiny redbrick jail. Charged with the murder of a local Cajun pharmacist, Willie Francis’s trial had been brief and a guilty verdict was never in doubt. Willie’s appointed lawyers called no witnesses, presented no evidence and had not filed a single appeal once he was sentenced to die by electrocution.

As the noontide church bells began to toll, a crowd of townspeople gathered in the streets surrounding the jailhouse. Inside, the executioners – still smelling of liquor after spending a late night in the local taverns — strapped Willie into the electric chair. Three hundred pounds of oak and metal, the chair had been dubbed “Gruesome Gertie.” At 12:08 PM, the executioners flipped the switch. Willie screamed and writhed under his restraints. The chair shuddered and slid across the floor. But Willie Francis did not die.

Having miraculously survived, Willie was soon informed that the State would try to kill him again in six days. Letters and telegrams began pouring into St. Martinville from across the country—spurred on by editorials and radio commentaries. Americans of all colors and classes were transfixed by the fate of this young man. Had he been saved from death by the hand of the Almighty? Could Louisiana really electrocute someone twice? Was the boy innocent—the victim of secrets and lies told by powerful whites in the cursed town of St. Martinville? Into the fray stepped a young Cajun lawyer just returned from WWII, Bertrand DeBlanc. After a visit from Willie’s shaken but resolute father, DeBlanc resolved to take on Willie’s case—in the face of overwhelming local resistance. Despite the fact that the murdered pharmacist was one of DeBlanc’s best friends, and the knowledge that his own family was rooted in white supremacy, DeBlanc would battle those on both sides of the color line in the hope of saving Willie Francis from an inhuman fate. He argued the case from the Bayou all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court where it caused a rift between the Justices. Felix Frankfurter, tortured by his vote to allow Willie to face the electric chair a second time, would make an unprecedented and covert last-ditch effort to overturn his own decision and save the life of Willie Francis.

Willie Francis
Born January 12, 1929
Died May 9, 1947 (aged 18)
Known for First known incident of a failed execution by electrocution in the United States[1]
Willie Francis (January 12, 1929 – May 9, 1947) is best known for being the first recipient of a failed execution by electrocution in the United States.[1] He was a black juvenile offender sentenced to death by electrocution by the state of Louisiana in 1945 (at age 16) for murdering Andrew Thomas, a Cajun pharmacy owner in St. Martinville who had once employed him.

Arrest and trial

Andrew Thomas’s murder remained unsolved for nine months, until August 1945 when Francis was detained in Texas due to his proximity to an unrelated crime. Police claimed he was carrying the wallet of Andrew Thomas in his pocket.
Francis initially named several others in connection with the murder, but the police dismissed these claims. A short time later, Francis, under interrogation, confessed to Thomas’ murder, writing, "It was a secret about me and him." The actual meaning of his statement is still uncertain, but author Gilbert King, in his book, "The Execution of Willie Francis," alludes to rumors in St. Martinville of sexual abuse by the pharmacist. Francis later directed the police to where he’d disposed of the holster used to carry the murder weapon. The gun used to kill Thomas was also found near the crime scene and belonged to a deputy sheriff in St. Martinville who had once threatened to kill Thomas. It, along with the bullets, disappeared from evidence just before the trial.
Despite two separate written confessions, Francis pleaded not guilty. During the trial of Willie Francis, the court-appointed defense attorneys offered no objections, called no witnesses and put up no defense. The validity of the confessions was not questioned by the defense. Just two days after the trial began, Willie Francis stood convicted of murder and was sentenced to death by twelve jurors and the judge.
Execution, appeal, and second execution

On May 3, 1946, the electric chair failed to kill Willie Francis. Witnesses reported hearing the teenager scream from behind the leather hood, "Take it off! Take it off! Let me breathe!" as the supposedly lethal surge of electricity was being applied [2]. Another report states that he called out, "I’m n-not dying!"[citation needed] It turned out that the portable electric chair known as "Gruesome Gertie" had been improperly set up by an intoxicated prison guard and inmate Erica Taylor. "Little-Known Black History Fact, Willie Francis". from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The sheriff, E.L. Resweber, was later quoted as saying: "This boy really got a shock when they turned that machine on."[2]
After the botched execution, a young lawyer, Bertrand DeBlanc, who was best friends with the victim, decided to take Francis’s case, much to the dismay of the small Cajun town. He appealed to the Supreme Court in Francis v. Resweber, 329 U.S. 459 (1947), citing various violations of his Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. These included violations of equal protection, double jeopardy, and cruel and unusual punishment.
The preliminary vote was in Francis’ favor. A court clerk mistakenly informed Francis’ legal team he had won his appeal.[citation needed] In fact, in a 5-4 decision, the appeal was rejected. The dissenting opinion asked just how many attempted executions it took before it became cruel and unusual punishment. Behind the scenes, Justice Felix Frankfurter, who cast the deciding vote to re-execute Francis, asked his old college roommate to secretly petition the Governor of Louisiana for a commutation, which failed.
Subsequently, Willie Francis was executed at 12:05 pm (CST) on May 9, 1947

Thank you for posting this! It’s a shame that we hold titiles for youngest person being executed and first women to be executed! Justice is not blind, we must learn from that past and stop giving Justice and her crew reasons to put us in jail. I’m so tired of black men refering to being in jail as a vacation! That is one vacation I don not want to go on!

this is far beyond a case of inhumane treatment….how can we as a people look forward to the future when our past is always a hurtful reminder of things unchanged. i myself am being tried in this RACIST jusctice system…..and now since we can fast forward 63 years ahead, we now have our own race involved in this systematic injustice. i just hope the All Mighty Allah intervenes…..and i pray for our generation, we’ve come along way and still have so far to go.

The shame is that we once were innocently picked up and dehumanized,raped,killed and unjustly persecuted. These things still happen. Now we are also killing ourselves as well as being subjected to the hidden current day abuse of racism. We know use alcohol,drugs,black on black crime to numb our pains. We need to stop assisiting the racist in their plots to destroy us. Let us take these lessons of the pass to realize that we must love and uplift one another. All as a united group can we fight these injustices which still occur at the hands of ourselves and others.

The white man in America has been pathetic ever since he came here and started the annihilation of the American Indian, stole this land, than imported Africans as their slaves to build this country. This is no different, think about the thousands of young boys they lynched during, and prior to this period.

Yes, well, most of the white people in this country came from Europe or Asia. My grandfather was born in Poland and my grandmother was born in Russia and I am Jewish and most of my ancestors were annihilated in gas chambers during the holocaust. Again, persecution is not any particular color or by any particular color. And now, in 2013, there are still places in this country I would dare not mention that I am Jewish!

Blacks have very good reason to hate (yeah I know hate is strong) Whites yet we don’t but they continue to date in 2011 on the path of hate and supremacy and it doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. This is heartbreaking. How can sleep at night knowing this kid was innocent of the charges and yet they murdered him? They have no morals, no heart and just a bunch of nasty, nasty people. If there really is a hell, I hope this racist society’s Whites who are bent on destroying Blacks end up in it!

The last public execution in the UK was in 1868, yet in America you still practise this, that is have a viewing audience behind a glass panel to watch the condemmed die and yet you profess to be a civilised society !! Don`t make me laugh, you are a disgrace to humanity !

hmmm i was just thinking about this and it’s technically NOT TRUE… I mean he might’ve been the youngest person that ever went through some type of trial, was found guilty, and sentenced… but what about the generals and military men who murdered all those Native americans? some of them were children.

Boy dem white folks got away with murder all the time in those days. kill ya wife, kids, husband and then blame it on a black person. smh a those disgusting and heartless bastards of the past. my comment is not to be prejuidice against anyones color but dem ppl, i just cant.

george stinney made 2 confessions.At first he said both girls attacked him and he killed them in self defense.Then he admitted he wanted sex with the older girl so he battered the younger one in a surprise blitz-style attack to get her out of the way.He then chased down the older girl,tried to rape her and killed her when she resisted.He said he used a 15 inch long piece of iron to murder the girls which he hid after killing them.He then took police to where he hid the murder weapon.It turned out to be a 14 inch long railroad spike.He never recanted his confession,not even when asked for any last words before he aws executed,he refused to speak.If he was innocent,I think he would have recanted his confession-also-How did he know where the murder weapon was hidden if he was innocent?

We cannot forget who is Black and who is white here, nor should we even try. This was in the 1940’s segregated South, and had you lived in those times you would not be able to look past race, either. The only thing that is unsuccessful here is your argument.

Read about the lynching of Ed Johnson. Very important because the Walnut Street Bridge is a popular tourist attraction in Chattanooga. People casually and happily walk over this bridge blissfully ignorant. His case is important historically because it made its way to the Supreme Court. Thank you for telling us these stories Straight From the A. We need to never forget the horrors that we have suffered as a people and honor the memory and legacy of our ancestors.

Troy Davis was found Guilty by a court of law, that’s final.
In the case of this young man, when I was 13yrs old I was able to lift (over my head) easily 150lbs. The likelyhood of this young man being NOT guilty is absurd. He committed a loathsome offense and the government tried a great deal to keep his family safe!

The statement regarding "Ice cream" being given is hearsay and should be struck from this report, but, alas this is the Internet and such wild accusations are made here daily.

All of the above being said, this case will most likely be preserved for what it was, a double homocide by a teenager.. Tell me we’ve never heard of at least one case before where a teenager was charged with such and I’ll show you a liar.

How sad just shows how killing our children is the American way my all our fallen angles rest in peace i pray for my son everyday that he lives to see another day cuz the U.S dont care bout our childern soooooo sad

I actually did an oral presentation about this in a class I took 2 yrs ago & my classmates, black & white, were shocked. I first heard about this story over 20 yrs ago when it was made into a movie staring Louis Gosset. They actually showed the little boy being electrocuted in the movie.

I think the boy was innocent my god white people was so dirty back in the day why why it´s funny you didn´t like the color our skin but now you like our music, dances and rappers and all how the tables have turn